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Son Heung-min has spoken about his journey from South Korea to Europe as a teenager. Appearing on The Late Run podcast, the forward recalled moving to Hamburg at the age of 16 and using the animated television show SpongeBob SquarePants to learn German.

Son looks back on his early move to Europe

The former Tottenham Hotspur star reflected on the difficulties of his early career after leaving South Korea for Hamburg as a teenager. Speaking on The Late Run podcast, the forward described the culture shock and isolation that came with moving across the world at 16.

Son also revealed that he had once come close to turning down the route that eventually led to his MLS switch to Los Angeles FC, admitting that years of persistence from the American club ultimately changed his mind.

Even so, adjusting to life in Germany turned out to be the biggest learning curve he faced.

SpongeBob gave him his breakthrough in German

Responding to rumours about how he learned the language, Son confirmed that watching SpongeBob SquarePants was his main method for mastering German. He remembered keeping his eyes fixed on the screen even though the characters spoke too quickly for a beginner to understand at first.

The cartoon gave him visual clues, which helped him build his vocabulary one word at a time.

"That's so true," Son said when asked about the cartoon. "As a cartoon I think they speak so fast I couldn't understand first, but I was still watching the picture of it and trying to understand in my mind."

Sacrifice and discipline laid the base for his career

Son admitted that being away from his family at such a young age was the toughest challenge of his life. In spite of the loneliness and the complete change in food and surroundings, he said the discipline he developed in Germany became the platform for his success at Spurs.

Looking back now, the South Korea international said those sacrifices were essential if he was to fulfil his dreams.

"Away from my family at 16 years, it was really, really tough," Son admitted. "But now when I'm thinking about it, it was worth it. I speak German, I learned the culture, so it was worth having this tough time."

Spurs memories and GOAT choice

As well as revisiting his early years in Germany, Son also reflected on the best period of his time at Tottenham Hotspur, including the club's run to the 2019 Champions League final, his partnership with Harry Kane, and seeing Dele Alli's decline.

When asked to name his idol in the long-running GOAT debate, Son chose Cristiano Ronaldo, while also recognising the greatness of Lionel Messi.

Now settled and enjoying life in America, Son said he is surprised to be filling NFL-sized stadiums every week as he continues his career in MLS.